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Archive for May 2010

Here in the UK it’s been an exciting time politically, in the wake of this month’s inconclusive election result. In the days after the election we followed with interest as the Conservative and Labour parties climbed over each other to court Lib Dem support and votes. Never before had it seemed like the third place finisher had indeed won the gold medal.

We’ve now got a working coalition, although Conservatives and Lib Dems are certainly unexpected bedfellows. It was even more remarkable to hear members of our new government proclaiming that they will create a ‘new politics’ based more on cooperation and compromise in their unlikely alliance.

We often hear people complain about ‘office politics.’ For some ‘office politics’ means the most capable people don’t get promoted. For other ‘office politics ‘ creates an atmosphere of fear in which people are more willing to tell their bosses and colleagues what they want to hear, even if its not in the best interests of the team or organisation.

Might it be possible to create a ‘new politics’ in your organisation? If the government can do it, why not? But ‘new politics’ means a change in company culture. We know that culture is driven by behaviour, and this is where Spoon’s work is focussed: on creating the behaviour change that will drive organizational change. Is it easy? No. Is it worthwhile? Always.